Being in Texas automatically gives us access to arguably the best ice cream in the nation, and being in Austin allows us to eat some of the best froyo and ice cream around. I love ice cream and froyo but, if you’re like me, you probably get tired of eating the same things over and over.
Luckily for us poor college students, most of these Austin dessert places are reasonably-priced food trucks. Try one of these places the next time you crave something sweet:
Churro Co.
Photo by Vicky Nguyen
Offering a menu that changes seasonally, this food truck should definitely be on your Austin desserts bucket list. They posted a short clip of their churro-making process, proving that every order is fresh and handmade.
If you’re the adventurous type, you can try one of the their specialty items. If you’re a fan of the classics, they also serve plain churros with ice cream. Each order is big enough to share between two people, but not big enough that you can’t have all the goodness to yourself.
Bananarchy
Photo courtesy of keepaustineatin.com
Are you a fan of Arrested Development? You’ll love this place regardless. They announce weekly specials on their Facebook page, which have included crazy good concoctions like Pumpkin Spice Banana, Peanut Butter Pie Banana and Strawberry Nutella Dream Banana.
If you don’t like their special of the week, you can create your own or choose from their regular combos. They are open for as long as bananas are in season, which means they are closed during the winter.
Halcyon
While Halcyon is a coffee bar and lounge, I’ve never actually heard anyone call it that. I’ve always referred to it as “the s’mores bar.” You can order between two sizes, with everything you need served on a wooden platter with a small personal fire in the middle. With winter approaching, this s’mores bar is a perfect, cozy place to hang with friends or with a date.
Voodoo Doughnut Austin V
Founded in 2002 in Portland, Oregon, this doughnut shop made a name for itself through their wacky doughnut designs, unique decor and iconic pink boxes. They created the Longhorn Creme as an exclusive item for their newest shop in Austin.
This shop serves your regular run-of-the-mill doughnuts, but be sure to try their crazier creations including the Voodoo Doll Doughnut, Neapolitan Doughnut and Tex-Ass Doughnut.
Holy Cacao
Photo by Vicky Nguyen
Do your taste buds a favor and get their frozen hot chocolate. Their fresh daily-made hot chocolate is made with 60% dark chocolate. Yay, antioxidants. You can taste the richness of the chocolate without the overwhelming sweetness that you would usually find in chocolate desserts.
Holy Cacao also serves cake balls and customizable cake shakes. You can visit the main location, which is at the South Austin Trailer Park & Eatery, or the second location at the Rancho Rio Eatery near UT.
Sno Lab
Located in the same food truck eatery as Bananarchy, this snow cone food truck creates fluffy yummy shaved ice for you to enjoy. Like Churro Co, they also do a lot of their marketing on their Instagram. If you can’t try them before their “winter break” starts, be sure to check them out when spring arrives.
Gourdough’s Big. Fat. Donuts.
Photo by Vicky Nguyen
Gourdough’s Big. Fat. Donuts. food truck offers only dessert items, while Gourdough’s Public House serves a full menu at two brick-and-mortar locations. You can order one of their combos or create your own. You can also add extra things to the combos.
My favorite thing to order is the Blackout with a scoop of ice cream (sometimes) and grilled strawberries (always). I highly recommend that you always have room in your stomach when eating these decadent desserts or share one between 2-3 people.
Ice Scrapers
GIF courtesy of buzzfeed.com
If you’ve ever wanted to try Thai ice cream, you need to go to this food truck. You can watch the whole process as they mix, fold and chop your ice cream into rolls, not scoops. When the weather warms up, they’re open all week. When winter rolls around, they switch to weekend-only hours.